Letter: Tribute to an ordinary man
About one month ago, I was sitting outside a local café enjoying a book and a sunny spring day. I was dumbstruck when Pat Conroy stepped out of his truck and approached me. In spite of my surprise, I was able to blurt out, “Are you Mr. Conroy?”
He said that he was and stopped to talk to me. He was genuinely interested in me as a person and we talked about Wisconsin, where I am from. It gave me a lift to know that I had talked to a famous author and an ordinary guy.
I knew him for just that short encounter, but enough to cry as I brought in the morning paper. My eyes were brimming as I told my wife, “Pat Conroy is dead.”
Gordon Jaecks
Beaufort
This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Letter: Tribute to an ordinary man."